Bradford Firsts – Blog Series No.3

August 24, 2026Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

A Short History of Bradford Free Libraries

Before the introduction of free public libraries, access to books was a luxury reserved for those who could afford private subscriptions.

1832: The Bradford Mechanics’ Institute was founded. It provided technical education and a library of books explicitly for working-class men.
Exclusivity: While revolutionary, these spaces still required small membership fees, leaving the poorest citizens without free access to literature or learning.

The Birth of the Free Library (1871–1878)

Following the national Public Libraries Act of 1850, Bradford became the fifth town in Yorkshire to adopt the legislation after a public meeting called by the mayor in 1871.

15^th June 1872: The Bradford Free Library opened its doors in rented premises on Tyrrel Street, inaugurated with major civic pride by Mayor Matthew Thompson.

When it first opened in June 1872, Bradford Public Library enabled people from all walks of life and of all ages to access information and education freely for the first time.

The access to the library was detailed in the above article in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer in April 1878.

The 1872 initial collection of the Bradford Free Library was anchor-funded and heavily comprised of a singular massive acquisition: the private collection of Alderman Samuel Smith. See picture below.

Page from Report of Committees of Bradford City Council 1871 — reports-of-committees-of-bradford-city-council-1867-1876-1871.png
Bradford Local Studies Library

Alongside city leaders Briggs Priestley and John Venimore Godwin, the library acquired 13,400 volumes from Smith’s estate to rapidly stock the shelves at Tyrrel Street before opening day.

What the 1872 Collection Included

Because it was established strictly as a Reference Library and Newsroom during its first few months, the collection was selected to prioritize information density and public utility rather than casual fiction:

Local History and Antiquities: Early efforts focused heavily on preservation, creating a repository for local political pamphlets, transcripts of the Bradford Parish Registers, and topographical maps of the West Riding.
Newspapers and Periodicals: The newsroom floor featured a vast selection of local daily and weekly broadsheets, including early bound volumes of the Bradford Observer (later the Telegraph & Argus), alongside commercial trade sheets to support the booming wool and textile sectors.
Scientific & Commercial Reference: Directories, patent records, gazetteers, and standard 19th-century encyclopaedias designed to help local working-class men educate themselves.

Reports of Committees of Bradford City Council 1872, p13,14. Property of Bradford Local Studies Library

February 1873: The lending department officially opened to the public, allowing citizens to take books home for the first time.

1878: To accommodate rapidly growing demand, the library migrated to a grander, purpose-built facility on Darley Street. This site offered a newsroom, reference and lending blocks, separate reading rooms for men and women, and an art gallery.

Central Public Library Location: Darley Street, Bradford, Source/Collection: Bradford Libraries Archive

Reading Room / Reference Library area at the Central Public Library Location: Darley Street, Bradford, Source/Collection: Bradford Libraries Archive

The Libraries Committee was responsible for overseeing the maintaining/expansion and governance of the Bradford Free Library. James Duncan Law’s grandfather, James Law JP, was a central pioneer of Bradford’s initial municipal expansion. During his tenure as Mayor in 1867, he advocated heavily for Bradford to adopt the 1850 Free Libraries Act, (The Public Libraries Act 1850 was a monumental piece of UK legislation that laid the foundation for the modern public library system. Introduced to Parliament as a backbench bill by William Ewart MP and Joseph Brotherton MP, it gave local authorities discretionary power to establish free public libraries for the very first time, paving the way for the opening of the first branch at Tyrrel Street in 1872. Following his mayoralty, James Law JP served as a dedicated director of the Bradford Library for over 25 years, steering its transition into the larger, grander Darley Street premises.

Inheriting this role, James Duncan Law (1882–1940) carried the family’s oversight into the early 20th century. Operating through the Committee, he managed the strategic upkeep, library staffing, and expanding catalogue of the Darley Street Central Lending and Reference Library. His primary focus was maintaining the library’s educational resources to support the local working class during the height of Bradford’s industrial textile boom.

When the landmark, eight-storey Bradford Central Library officially opened on Monday 17 July 1967, it introduced two major historical “firsts” to the United Kingdom’s library infrastructure:

1. First Major Post-War Central Library in the UK

The building was a structural milestone for British municipal design. It stood as the very first major, newly built post-war central library building in the entire United Kingdom. It was commissioned as a flagship symbol of the 1960s urban redevelopment of Bradford city centre.

HEAG136 Publication date: September 2013 © English Heritage Reissue date: July 2016 © Historic England Design: Historic England

The building was commissioned to solve extreme overcrowding at the old Darley Street premises. It was designed by Bradford Corporation’s City Architect, Clifford Brown. He worked closely with the pioneering City Librarian, Harold Bilton, who had pushed for a modern premises since taking the role in 1951. The complex was built as an eight-story high-rise paired alongside an adjacent 400-seat Library Theatre. The structure made extensive use of glass facades and large reinforced concrete spans to maximize open space, natural light, and structural visual flexibility.
Financial Scale: When the building was finalized and officially opened by H.R.H. Princess Alexandra in 1967, the total construction and fitting cost was £800,000. For context, at the time, this massive investment was equivalent to buying multiple professional football clubs.

2. First UK Library Using the “Subject-Department” Principle

Before 1967, British libraries strictly separated their lending books from their reference books (often keeping reference texts tucked away in a closed-off area). Inspired by modern American systems, Bradford’s City Librarian, Harold Bilton, broke tradition:

Integrated Departments: Bradford Central Library became the first in the country to combine lending and reference materials together into designated subject departments.
The Layout: If you visited the 5th floor, for example, you found all social science lending books, reference texts, and specialists in that field grouped in one single zone.

Evolution of the Stock

June 1872: The Reference Library opened with the 13,400 general and local volumes.
February 1873: The library added a popular Lending Department, expanding the collection to include classic 19th-century literature and standard science textbooks.

In 2013, the library moved from Margaret McMillan Tower into a building in City Park which was shared with Bradford Museum and Galleries. This obviously caused a reduction in stock, and the entire library now only covered 2 floors. This did not deter usage as City Library as it is now known is still one of the busiest libraries in the district.

There is a display of photos on display in Bradford Local Studies, which people are welcome to come and see. These will be up until 31st August when the display will change to Septembers subject.

Sad Passing of a Library Friend and Volunteer, Steven Wood

July 20, 2026Bradford Libraries 1 Comment

It was with great sadness that Keighley Library staff heard of the death of Steven Wood early Monday morning, 13^th July.

Steve, as he was known to us, was a great friend of the library and of its staff. As a well-known local historian and authority on the history of the Haworth area, he often visited the library for research purposes. He gave freely of his time and expertise when we had any particularly challenging enquiries and helped not only staff but many other researchers and even appeared on television programmes about the Brontës in Haworth.

Steven Wood with his 2014 book, Haworth, Oxenhope & Stanbury From Old Maps. (image from the Keighley News)

Only recently, Steve helped library staff in the production of the Brontë trail booklet around Keighley, when we tried to work out the different routes the Brontës walked from Haworth to Keighley. Some staff can also fondly recall a legendary winter ramble with him years ago and being thoroughly informed by him about the history and topography of the Haworth area, including water courses, so that by the end of the walk, it wasn’t just a drink that we hurried to the pub for on such a cold day.

Steve became a regular library volunteer, his work digitising the library’s archive collections on the Haworth area are of immense value. Always happy to share his research with us, his copies of databases, images and information were regularly deposited with the library as he kept abreast of developing digital technology from hard copy transcriptions of Haworth Parish registers to image indexes and maps and plans on CD.

Steve’s published works continue to be an invaluable source of information on Haworth and its locality and it’s a relief to note that he managed to complete his history of Haworth Parish Church that was a project he had set his heart on and his scholarship as an historian will be well showcased on publication. We look forward to adding this history to our library and to his collection of many other fine works here.

We shall miss our friend and chats with him about his other passion – books and book fairs that he used to visit. Steve was a regular bibliophile and knew such a lot on this subject that, again, he was happy to share with us. On a lighter note, he had a lovely sense of humour and would send us the occasional funny cartoon about having too many books in the house (like one or two staff here) and about libraries generally. At Christmas, he would shop for chocolate goodies and never fail to bring some in for a tea break. Steve was a lovely and very accomplished gentleman, generous with his time and knowledge, and we shall continue to miss him very much.

Keighley Local Studies Team

Bradford’s Forgotten author: A Blog Post on Bradford’s Willie Riley. A recent talk at Bradford Local Studies by David M. Copeland

February 10, 2026Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

Thanks to the tireless efforts of David, a University of Bradford graduate and Riley enthusiast, there has been a recent revival of interest in the life of Willie Riley. Copeland’s work has included:

A Master of Philosophy thesis on Riley’s life and works: From Bradford Moor to Silver Dale.

The establishment of a dedicated Willie Riley website.
An introduction to the re-issued edition of Windyridge, which is now back in print.

Bradford Local Studies holds most of his fiction catalogue which can be perused in the Library.

The University of Bradford Library Special Collections holds an extensive archive of his work, including manuscripts, correspondence, and photographs, which are available for researchers and fans alike.

Willie Riley’s story reminds us that literary fame can be fleeting, but the power of a good story well told endures. His work offers a charming window into a bygone era of Yorkshire life, and its high time he was rediscovered.

Born in Bradford in 1866, Willie Riley was a fascinating figure who went from a successful businessman in the textile and optical lantern slide industries to a best-selling author of over 30 novels. Though a household name in his time, particularly across Yorkshire, his work is now largely forgotten, making a revival of interest in this unique regional voice even more important, especially as it coincides with a renewed interest in the Yorkshire Dialect, with ‘Let’s Talk Tyke’ workshops and the appointment as President of The Yorkshire Dialect Society, Yorkshire-born British Library linguist and dialectologist Jonnie Robinson.

From Boardroom to Bookstore

Riley’s journey to becoming an author was unconventional. He started working for his father Joseph, in his ‘stuff business’, straight after leaving school in 1882.

Credit: University of Bradford, The W. Riley Archive., Special Collections. RIL10/2. Headed notepaper for Riley & Riley. 17 Westgate Colonnade, Bradford.

In 1884, Joseph created The Optical Lantern Business and Willie transferred to this part of the family business, which was a firm that sold and hired magic lantern equipment internationally. In 1889, Willie was made a partner in the company. The business thrived until World War I, when it collapsed.

(The National Science and Media Museum in Bradford has a collection of the Riley Magic Lantern Slides.)

However, even though he worked in the family businesses, his writing career had already begun as a personal project. In early 1911, to amuse his wife and two bereaved friends, the Bolton sisters, he began writing a story in weekly chapters. This heartwarming tale, full of the detail of Yorkshire life and set in a fictionalised version of the village of Hawksworth near Baildon, was eventually published as Windyridge in 1912.

Windyridge was an instant sensation, selling around half a million copies and remaining in print until his death in 1961. Its success even led to houses across the country being named after the fictional location.

Riley became a full-time writer after his business closed, producing a steady stream of novels, short stories, newspaper articles, and travel works, most of which were set in his beloved Yorkshire Dales. His work is characterised by:

A deep love for Yorkshire: His stories used real places under disguised names, capturing the landscape and local character.
Methodist faith: A dedicated local preacher for 75 years, his strong religious beliefs underlie all his writings.
Heartwarming storytelling: His books offered a comforting escape, full of gentle humour and moral reflection.

Despite his immense fame during his lifetime (he died in 1961 at the age of 95), Riley’s popularity waned significantly after his death, and he became almost completely forgotten.

Willie Riley, in his study. Published by J.E. Lacy, Post Office, Silverdale.
Part of the Bradford Local Studies Library Postcard Collection.

Credit: https://specialcollectionsbradford.wordpress.com/
Ref: RIL 12_3p.5

Riley also contributed his Message of the Moors to the historical 1931 Bradford Pageant.

Bradford Pageant Souvenir Book 1931. Image courtesy of the owner.
Copies also available to read onsite at Bradford Local Studies.

Thank you to

Bradford Local Studies Library.

David Copeland – https://www.willieriley.org.uk/

Julie Parry- Bradford University Special Collections

Written by Vicki Warner, Bradford Local Studies and Archives

Readers can access his collection of stories at Bradford Local Studies,to read in the library.

Please contact us on 01274-433688 or local.studies@bradford.gov.uk to book an appointment.

The Impact of German Butchers in Keighley

September 15, 2025Bradford Libraries Leave a comment

‘Meeting the Meat Demand’ with Karl-Heinz Wüstner.

Over the summer, the History Society was presented with the opportunity for a talk by Karl-Heinz Wüstner on German immigration to West Yorkshire. With all of our regular slots already filled (and the budget pretty much used up), our solution was to book Keighley Local Studies Library for an extra talk on the afternoon of Wednesday 1^st October. The talk, entitled ‘Meeting the Meat Demand’ will start at 2.30pm and will finish around 4.30pm (time for the talk plus discussion at the end). There is a charge of £2 per person (fee applies to members and visitors).

Karl-Heinz Wüstner is a retired high school teacher from Ilshofen, Germany. As a local historian he has studied labour migration and conducted research on trade and craftsmanship in the Hohenlohe region of Germany for many years. He is a committee member of the Historical Society for Württemberg-Franconia and chairman of a local museum that exhibits painted furniture. He writes books and articles, and has given talks at numerous conferences and seminars.

Karl-Heinz Wüstner: “The continuing industrialisation of Yorkshire in the 19^th century created many additional jobs in wool mills and factories. Industrial centres grew rapidly and the large number of newly arrived workers needed to be fed. German immigrants in particular took advantage of these circumstances. As butchers, they not only offered meat, but also produced a variety of tasty sausages, meatloaf, rissoles and many other products that could be eaten either cold or warm after brief heating. With the introduction of takeaways, also offering hot meals, they broke new ground in food supply and thus established new eating habits.

“Quite a number of such pork butchers settled in the up-and-coming town of Keighley. A whole series of butcher’s shops with more than thirty female and young employees dominated the streetscape. Names such as Andrassy, Pfeiffer, Hofmann and Schneider may still be remembered by some today.

“I will try to explain why the butchers and their families left their homeland and how they were able to succeed as immigrants. I will explore the important role they played in the development of the towns and cities, as well as their personal fates.”

Article and Photos by Tim Neal, Keighley & District Local History Society.

HISTORY SOCIETY @ KEIGHLEY LOCAL STUDIES LIBRARY

June 2, 2025Bradford Libraries 1 Comment

The History Society held another of their research sessions at Keighley Local Studies Library on the morning of Saturday 31^st May 2025. Around twenty members attended, with Angela, Gina and Janet from the library staff opening up various photographic archives and maps of the area for people to peruse.

The session started with History Society committee member Tim Neal talking to attendees about 3D or stereoscopic photography. Many of those there could remember the phenomenon of View-Masters that were around from the 1950s to the 1980s. These handheld viewers used to be loaded with a cardboard circular disc holding seven different colour stereoscopic photos. When looking through the viewer these images appeared in 3D. Tim had brought along half-a-dozen View-Master viewers and a selection of geographical and event-based discs covering subjects as varied as Princess Margaret’s wedding in 1960 to a mid-century of Ottawa in Canada. Members were able to peruse these at their leisure.

Mel Whitaker, writing after the event: “Tim’s collection of ‘View Masters’ brought back many happy memories for all of us who had owned one – and really impressed those who had never seen one before!”

People were then introduced to a collection of card-backed slides from the library’s collection. These were stereoscope images of Keighley in the Victorian era. Local historian Eddie Kelly had already studied the cards and had been able to conclude that they must have been produced around 1895, judging by some of the businesses depicted and the development of some of the buildings in some of the pictures. Using either the vintage wooden viewer or modern plastic equivalents, attendees were able to see Victorian Keighley brought back to life in 3D.

Accompanying these stereoscopic images were selections of photographs, organised by area of town, from a variety of the library’s archive collections, showing the town from the 1900s to the 1960s. It was a period that saw enormous changes in the landscape of the town.

Andy Wade, writing after the event: “Had an excellent session in Keighley Library’s Local Studies room looking at stereoscopic photographs and some of the old photo archives and in particular, the chance to talk about what we were looking at, as there were some unique views of Keighley which I’ve never seen before.”

Finally, bringing us right up to date, the staff had set up the library’s virtual reality equipment, enabling members to view 3D recreations of a 1970s living room, and to explore potential habitats fifty years in the future.

Several members also brought their own items to add to collections, and could also explore their own research lines of query with the staff and the amazing resources that the library has to offer. The session was summed up by society member Jean McClennon: “An excellent and interesting session, thanks very much to all involved.”

The History Society will be holding another similar session on Saturday 18^th October, focusing in how to use the library’s resources to research the history of your own home.

Tim Neal
Keighley & District Local History Society
1^st June 2025